Clamping arrangement



u y 2 1962 c. E. GINGHER ET AL 3,046,041

CLAMPING ARRANGEMENT Original Filed April 30, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS CA RI. E. G/NGHER BY CARL E. G/NGHERJUR.

MAW

July 24-,

C. E. GINGHER ET AL CLAMPING ARRANGEMENT Original Filed April 30, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS CARL E. G/NGHERI BY CARL E. G/NGHER 'JR Aha/ways July 24, 1962 c. E. GINGHER ET AL 3,046,041

CLAMPING ARRANGEMENT Original Filed April 30, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 31 INVENTORS I I CARL E. GINGHER 52 CARL E. G/NGHER,JR-

lax/WWW ATTORNEYS I Unite The present invention relates to clothes racks, more particularly to an upright clothes rack primarily for small oflices and the like, which is extremely stable when carrying a full load of garments. Other features of this clothes rack include a detachable shelf section and a leveling arrangement which does not decrease the stability of the loaded clothes rack.

The need has always existed for an upright clothes rack for small oflices and the like, which rack can accommodate a considerable amount of clothing, take up a minimum of space, and yet be stable when a load of clothing is suspended from the hanger bar thereof. In an effort to increase the capacity of a clothing rack, a hanger bar for the garments has been made of such a length that the rack is not stable when a number of garments are suspended therefrom. Consequently, a slight contact with the clothing rack is liable to upset the rack.

It is well known that the floors of various structures are not exactly level. This also contributes to the instability of upright clot-hes racks. When a clothes rack having a load of garments thereon is positioned upon a slightly inclined floor, the result is that a very slight contact can topple over the clothes rack.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved and novel clamping arrangement for clam-ping a tubular member onto an elongated member received therein.

It is still an additional object of this invention to provide a clamping arrangement which is capable of fine adjustments.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an arrangement for clamping a tubular member to an elongated member received therein without mar-ring in any? way the surface of the elongated member but providing a secure attachment thereto.

ther objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reference to the accompanying de- S-tates atent scription when taken in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an over-all perspective view of the clothes rack of this invention looking-at the under side of the shelf section and downwardly upon the base;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the components.

comprising the base of the clothes rack of this invention showing the components in exploded relationship to each other;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the elongated member of the base showing the leveling arrangement for the clothes rack;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken through the lower end of the vertical upright showing the fastening studs secured therein;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the shelf section of this invention looking at the rear thereof;

FIGURE6 is a bottom plan view of a portion of a shelf section showing the clamp arrangement thereon in the tightened position;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view illustrating the relationship between the clothes suspended from the hanger bar and the triangle formed by the supporting pads on the base.

FIGURE'8 is a perspective view of a single clamping member as disclosed in this invention;

attain Patented July 24, 1962 FIGURE 9 is an end view of a slotted tubular member having the clamping arrangement of FIGURE 8 secured thereon;

FIGURE 10' is an overall perspective view of a portion of "a tubular member having a modified clamping arrangement thereon which is capable of experting tremendous clamping forces;

FIGURE 11 is side elevational View of a multiple clamping arrangement strip; and

FIGURE 12 is a persp eotive view of the multiple clamping strip as illustrated in FIGURE 11.

The clothes rack of this invention essentially comprises a base which has supporting surfaces thereon arranged in a triangle. A vertical upright is attached to said base, and mounted on the upper end of the upright is a detachable shelf section. A hanger bar on said shelf section is so arranged that it is positioned entirely within the triangle formed by the supporting surfaces on the base. In addition, the base is provided with a leveling arrangement which is so constructed that the size of the triangle is not diminished when leveling adjustments have been made. This arrangement contributes to the stability of the clothes rack of this invention.

For a specific embodiment of the clothes rack of this invention, reference is made to FIGURE 1 of the drawings wherein a clothes rack indicated at 1 comprises a base 2, a vertical upright 3, and a shelf section 4. Each of these main components will be described in detail.

Proceeding next to FIGURE 2, there is disclosed a base 2 which comprises an elongated base member 5 which is in the form of a channel having closed ends 6. There is a cut-out 7 in the center of one of the flanges of the base member. A pair of holes 8 are located in the central transverse axis of the web of the base member 5.

A cross-piece 9 is similarly formed from a channel and has a closed end 10. There are a pair of longitudinally arranged holes 11 at the end of the cross-piece opposite from the closed end 10. The cross-piece 9 has the same cross-section as the base member 5 and fits into the cutout portion 7 of the base member.

There is a resilient pad 12 at each of the ends of the base member 5 and at the end 10 of the cross-piece 9. These pads form supporting surfaces for the base and are made from natural or synthetic rubber or from a suitable plastic. Each of the pads is attached to the base by a pad-holder 13 which, as canbe seen in FIGURE 3, is channel-shaped, with a flange 14. The flange 14 is spot-welded to the under surface of the base. There is a tab 15 cut out from each side of the pad-holder channel. These tabs are slightly inclined inwardly and form clamping jaws to retain the resilient pad therebetween.

There is a hole 16 in each of said base members near the extreme end thereof. Each hole has a reinforcing plate 17 and is tapped. An adjusting screw 18 having an enlarged head 19 to facilitate gripping thereof is threaded into each of the openings 16. The end of the screw engaged the web of the pad-holder and positions the pad with respect to the base for leveling the clothes rack. As can be seen in FIGURE 3, when the adjusting screw is tightened, the outer edge of the supporting pad rests upon the surface.

The upright3 comprises l /z-inch square steel tubing. The lower end of the upright indicated at 20 has a pair of threaded studs 21 welded to the inner faces thereof. These studs pass through the holes 8 and 11 of the base member and cross-piece, respectively. The nuts are then threaded on the lower end of the studs to secure the upright and the base members together into an integral unit. The upright member can be made of any appropriate height, depending on the contemplated use for the clothes rack.

Proceeding next to FIGURES, there is illustrated the shelf section 4 which comprises a tubular section 22 which is of a short length when compared to the length of the vertical upright. The tubular section 22 has a square cross-section but is somewhat larger than the crosssection of the vertical upright so as to form a telescoping fit therewith. The tubular section comprises a channel having inwardly bent flanges 23. The space between the edges of the flanges 23 forms a longitudinally extending slot 24. There is a shelf 25 mounted on the top of the tubular section so as to close the upper end of the tubular section. Thus, when the shelf section is in position upon the upright, the shelf engages the top end of the vertical upright so as to limit the movement of the shelf section upon the upright.

The shelf comprises a pattern of openings 26 and has a downwardly depending flange 27 extending around the edges thereof. The flange may have trim thereon for decorative or identifying purposes.

There is a bracket 28 which serves as a brace between the shelf and the tubular member.

A bar 29 extends laterally outwardly from the front face of the tubular section 22. The bar 29 is spaced below the shelf 25 and extends along the central transverse axis thereof. One' end of the bar is secured to the tubular section, and the other end is bent upwardly and is fastened to the bracket as indicated at 30.

The capacity of the shelf section is increased by providing a stamped steel hook 31 on each side of the tubular section.

Clamping means indicated generally at 32 and illustrated individually in FIGURE 8 are provided on the tubular section for securing the shelf section to the vertical upright. This clamping means comprises a strip 33 which bridges the longitudinal slot 24 and is secured to the flanges 23. A pair of slits are formed in the strip extending across the slot 24 so as to form three parallel strip portions-a central portion 34 and outer portions 35. The central portion may be curved inwardly with respect to the tubular section and the two outer portions are curved outwardly. In normal positions, prior to use, the central portion is straight as may be seen in FIGURE 9. A block 36 is passed between the outwardly curved outer portions 35 and central portion 34. The block has a threaded hole 37 which receives an adjusting screw 38. Y

When the screw 38 is tightened, the end thereof will contact the central strip portion 34. Subsequent tightening of the screw will urge the central portion downwardly against the outer surface of the vertical upright. The ends of the block 36 at the same time will push outwardly against the outer strip portions 35. This action between the block 36 and the strip portions 34 and 35 will clamp the tubular section to the vertical upright. In addition, tightening the screw will cause the strips 34 and 35 to pull the flanges 23 inwardly and this tightens the tubular member around the upright. With this arrangement, the end of the adjusting screw does not contact the vertical upright and hence does not mar the finish thereof.

While the shelf section 4 has been described as being mounted upon the upper end of the upright in order to form the clothes rack, the shelf section may be used independently of the upright and base of the clothes rack of this invention. The shelf section can be mounted on any vertical upright of appropriate form. Such uprights may be found in partitions of oflices or may be a part of the building structure. In any event, the shelf section can be used in the invention and can be clamped to any suitable upright.

FIGURE 7 illustrates diagrammatically the stability of the clothes rack of this invention. In this view, it is pointed out that the hanger bar is entirely within the triangle formed by the supporting pads on the base. As a result, the center of gravity of the loaded garment rack will fall within this triangular base. Consequently, even when a full load of garments is suspended from the gated members.

4 hanger bar of this clothes rack, the clothes rack will be stable since the center of gravity of the garments will fall within this triangle.

Furthermore, when necessary adjustments have been made to level the clothes rack, the center of gravity of the loaded clothes rack will still fall within this triangle. As pointed out previously, when a leveling adjustment has been made, the extreme outer edge of the pad will contact the supporting surface. Consequently, the triangle formed by the supporting pads will not be reduced in size but will be maintained at a maximum. Thus, leveling of the clothes rack will not decrease the stability thereof even when carrying a full load of garments.

If the entire supporting surface of the resilient pad contacted the surface upon which the garment rack rested, it can be seen that the triangle formed by these pads would be smaller and consequently the clothes rack would be less stable.

The view illustrated in FIGURE 9 is substantially the same as that shown in FIGURE 6 except that the clamping arrangement illustrated in FIGURE 9 is in its normal untightened position. It can be seen that when in this position the central strip 34 extends in a straight line across the slot in the tubular member.

Proceeding next to FIGURE 10, there is shown a modified clamping arrangement for use in obtaining large clamping forces. There is illustrated at 39 a substantially square tubular member which is formed of a channel member 40 and a second channel member 41. The channel member 41 is actually the base of a clamping arrangement which is indicated generally at 42. The web 43 of the channel member 41 has a plurality of spaced slots cut transversely therein so as to form a plurality of upwardly raised strips 44. A clamping block 45 passes under the strips 44 so as to be positioned between the strips and the uncurved portions of the web. The block 45 has recesses 46 thereon to accommodate the raised strips 44 so as to hold the block in position. There are a number of adjusting screws 47 threaded into holes in the block positioned between the curved strips.

When it is desired to clamp tubular member 39 to an elongated member received therein, the adjusting screws are tightened so as to urge the straight portions of the web downwardly against the elongated member. 'In addition, this tightening of the screws will pull the side walls or flanges of the channel member 40 together so as to exert an additional force against the elongated member received therein.

Proceeding next to FIG. 11 there is illustrated a multiple clamping strip generally shown at 4-8. The clamping strip is formed from a flat elongated strip of metal 49 and comprises a plurality of pairs of raised strips 50 along the edges thereof. Clamping blocks 51 are positioned under each pair of raised strips. Each of the clamping blocks ha an adjusting screw 52 received in a threaded hole therethrough. Thus, tightening of any of the adjusting screws 52 will cause the corresponding central portion 53 of the strip 49 to be urged against a member positioned underneath the clamping strip.

Such a clamping strip finds considerable use in attaching flexible tubular members to substantially rigid elon- The ends of the clamping strip may be joined to form an endless band which is of the approximate dimensions of the hollow flexible member. Subsequent tightening of the adjusting screws will result in clamping the flexible member against the solid member. With this clamping strip the force exerted on any portion of the hollow member may be carefully regulated so that in a case of a plastic member undue stress in any one localized area is prevented.

In none of the embodiments of the clamping arrangement does the adjusting screw bear directly upon the elongated member. Accordingly, any marring of the finish of the elongated interior member is eliminated. Further, this clamping arrangement is capable of very fine adjustments in clamping force as is particularly evident in the modification shown in FIGURE and the multiple clamping strip illustrated in FIGURES 11 and 12.

Thus it can be seen that the present invention has provided a simply constructed clothes rack which is stable with a full load of garments even when positioned upon inclined floor surfaces. The invention also discloses a shelf section which is compact in form, easily mounted and detached from the upright of this invention, and can be used independently from the clothing rack disclosed herein. The simple construction of this clothes rack which enables the rack to be easily assembled or disassembled results in a rack which is very convenient to use in small offices and other establishments having a small number of personnel therein.

The present application is a division of the copending application filed April 30, 1958 by the same named inventor and having the Serial No. 752,966 now Patent No. 2,964,202.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions, and, accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modification Within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a clothes rack a clamping arrangement for tubular members, a first tubular member, a second tubular member having a cross-section similar to that of said first tubular member for telescoping engagement therewith, there being a longitudinally extending slot in said second tubular member, a fiat strip on said second tubular member bridging said slot, there being a pair of slits in said strip extending across said slot, the portion of said strip between said slits being curved downwardly and engageable with the outer surface of said first tubular member, a block having its ends under the portions of said strip outwardly of said slits and its center portion engageable with the portion of said strip between said slits, and an adjusting screw in said block and bearing against said portion of the strip between said slits so that tightening of said screw will urge said portion against said first tubular member to clamp said tubular members together.

2. In a clothes rack a clamping arrangement for tubular members, a first tubular member, a second tubular member in telescoping relationship with said first tubular member, there being a longitudinally extending slot in said second tubular member,

a clamping strip across said slot and having three parallel portions across said strip with the central portion being curved inwardly toward said first tubular member and the other two portions curved outwardly away from said first tubular member, a block passing between said curved portions and having a threaded opening therethrough, and an adjusting screw in said threaded opening engageable with the central strip portion to urge the same into contact with said first tubular member when the screw is tightened so as to clamp said tubular members together.

3. In a clothes rack a clamping arrangement for tubular members, a first tubular member, a second tubular member fitting over said first tubular member in telescoping relationship therewith, there being a longitudinally extending slot in said second tubular member, at least three parallel strips in said second tubular member extending across said slot with alternate of said strips being curved outwardly, a block underneath said outwardly curved strip, and an adjusting screw passing through said block and bearing against a curved portion of a strip in engagement with said first tubular member so that tightening of said adjusting screw will urge said strip against said first tubular member to clamp said first and second tubular members together.

4. In a clothes rack a clamping arrangement comprising a first elongated member, a second elongated member having a tubular portion at one end thereof telescopingly fitting over an end of said first-elongated member, there i being a longitudinally extending slot in said tubular portion, a clamping strip on said second elongated member extending across said slot and having a plurality of parallel portions across said strip which are alternately curved outwardly, a block beneath said outwardly curved portions, and an adjusting screw passing through said block and bearing against acurved portion of a strip engageable with said first elongated member so that tightening of said screw will urge said curved portion against said first elongated member to clamp both of said elongated members together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,824,023 Langsner Sept. 22, 1931 1,918,519 Clements July 18, 1933 1,971,751 Keuflel Aug. 28, 1934 2,849,249 Fridolph Aug. 26, 1958 

